At the age of 69, the Simsbury, Conn., resident runs roughly 20 hours a week and races at record-setting pace. She also travels the world for orienteering competitions.

Throw in that she was born in Australia, met her husband and had their children in England, and, well, that’s unique.

As she has done since first coming to the Snowstorm Classics in Springfield’s Forest Park in 2005, when she was 65, Walker has set a pair of age group records for the 30th-annual series. She ran the 5K Dec. 5 in 23 minutes, 13 seconds, and then established a new standard in the 10K in 48:43 the following week.

“I mostly run with my husband, George, and we run by ourselves, so it’s fun to go out there (to the Snowstorm Classics) and run with a group of people,” said Walker, who was born on April 8, 1940. “It’s not competitive, other than competing against yourself. It gets us out. It’s a fun place to be.”

Another fun place to be for Walker is at orienteering events, which she has been competing in for approximately 15 years. She belongs to the Western Connecticut Orienteering Club in Danbury, Conn.

“You run through the woods with a compass trying to find the shortest distance between two points, and finding that point,” she explained.

“The object is to finish in a certain amount of time. I do well because I’m a runner. If I make a mistake, I can make the run-back rather quickly. I don’t do so well with the mental part of the orienteering: reading the maps. It’s thinking as you go.”

Walker said since she does orienteering in the spring and fall, it gives her a mental break from running even though she still logs her 20 or so miles a week. For her age group, 3.5K is a common distance, whereas other age groups often run a 10-12K distance.

“It’s a different group of friends,” she said.

Along with traveling throughout the country, the Walkers have recently competed in orienteering events in Sweden and Switzerland. She attended one competition in Sweden where 25,000 people competed in a five-day event.

“It was almost like being in a marathon crowd,” Walker said. “I was shocked by all these people.”

Running-wise, Walker has been incredibly fortunate in regards to staying healthy. Since picking up running at the age of 38, she’s had some minor injuries, such as plantar fasciitis and sore ankles, but nothing that has severely set her back. Also, in general, she’s enjoyed good health for her 69 years.

“I’m smart enough that if I’ve had a hard run, I have no problem taking a few days rest,” Walker said. “I think that’s what keeps us going: I have no health issues. I’m not on any cholesterol or blood pressure pills, or anything like that.”

With a potential ice storm in the forecast, Walker isn’t sure whether she’ll make the trip north to Springfield for Saturday’s Snowstorm Classics 10K, but “I encourage anyone to come out and run the Snowstorm Classics. They really are fun. It’s a great group of people. They cheer me on and give me all sorts of encouragement.

“And running in general . . . I think if people started doing it, I know it’s hard nowadays, and it was easier when I started, but if people could get out and find the time to do it, or hike, it’s a wonderful stress buster, and it’s good for them.”-

SNOWSTORM RESULTS: Amanda Dipaolo set a record for 21-year-olds Saturday at the Snowstorm Classics, covering the 5K course in 18:56 while also winning the women’s division. Tim VanOrden was the overall winner in 17:12. The race drew 112 runners.